Verizon Fios Internet 1 Gig Plan Review: Should You Get It?

The Verizon Gigabit Connection offers 940/800 Mbps (download/upload) contract-free fiber optic internet. This plan works best for homes running over 20 high-bandwidth devices simultaneously. This plan costs $89.99 monthly.

As a network enthusiast, I always search for the best internet plans. That led me to Verizon’s ‘gigabit’ plan. I gathered information from hours of research to help you figure out how this plan compares to others.

The following sections will help you determine whether you should get this plan:

Read on and learn more.

Key Takeaways

  • Verizon Gigabit Connection offers 940/800 Mbps (download/upload)
  • This plan works best for homes running over 20 high-bandwidth devices simultaneously
  • For a Gigabit plan, it’s not expensive at all ($89.99 monthly)
  • There is no data cap or contacts for this plan (which is great)
  • Fios Gigabit has limited availability

What Is the Fios Gigabit Connection?

Verizon’s Gigabit Connection internet plan offers 940/800 Mbps speeds to customers in nine states. This no-contract home internet plan gives you significantly higher upload speeds than competing internet service providers offering similar download speeds.

Verizon uses only fiber optic cables to deliver internet connectivity for all of their Fios internet-only plans. That means no cable/fiber hybrid connections. And because of their signal delivery method, you can expect fewer interruptions in your internet connection.

Fiber is less susceptible to environmental and electrical interference since it uses light to transmit signals. Instead of copper wires.

Who Is Verizon Gigabit Best For?

Gigabit Connect’s 940/800 Mbps plan can handle over 20 devices simultaneously performing different online tasks. Here are some examples of who should get it:

  • You’re operating at least 10 home security cameras
  • Streaming 4K video on at least seven devices
  • Remote workers in homes with over five people
  • Cloud gaming (gaming-as-a-service) on over four devices
  • Frequent file downloads (at least under 250 GB)

The above refers to households that simultaneously perform all of these tasks.

Let’s dive into how gigabit internet could improve your online life.




What Can You Do With 940 Mbps Download and 800 Mbps Upload Speeds?

Here are some network speed requirements from certain devices and services:

TaskDownload Speed (Mbps)Upload Speed (Mbps)
5 Users Watching 4K Content1250
10 Nest Cameras4040
3 Ring Doorbells6.06.0
4G Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)200 concurrent calls: 50200 concurrent calls: 50
* Live Streaming on Twitch720p 60 FPS: 4.5Video: 2.5–4Audio: 1.6
This table compares speed requirements for various smart devices and online services.

* Give yourself a 30–40% buffer when livestreaming on platforms like Twitch. This accounts for internet speed fluctuations.

The small print of their sales page says that “wired” speeds get up to 940/800 Mbps. And ACTUAL speeds range from 750 to 940 Mbps (download) and 750–880 Mbps (upload).

A million scenarios could impact these speeds. For instance, if you’re using Wi-Fi, you could have physical metal objects or building materials dampen your signal.

Anywho:

The above scenario only uses 200 Mbps download speeds. And it accounts for a home having seven high-bandwidth users doing stuff at once.

And you still have 700 Mbps to play with.

Whether you want to have people over, download/upload files, or want to use background tasks, you’ll have no problems.

Let’s dive further into what 940 Mbps speeds can do.

Work From Home

No matter your remote career, you won’t have to worry about sluggish internet speeds or slow file downloads/uploads. So you can send files at least over 50 GB in size in only several minutes.

While other people use your network.

Here are some everyday work-from-home tasks you’ll need particular speeds for:

TaskDownload Speed (Mbps)Upload Speed (Mbps)
Zoom Video ConferencesGroup calling 1080p: 3.8
1:1 calling 1080p: 3.8
Group calling 1080p: 3.8
1:1 calling 1080p: 3.8
Web Surfing2.01.0
Reading/Sending Emails1.01.0
File Downloads10NA
Google Voice (VoIP)0.50.5
This table presents various speed requirements from standard remote work software.

So if someone has the day off of school or work and wants to game online, you won’t have to worry about their online activities affecting your productivity.

Speaking of random online activities.

Watching Streaming Services

Over 20 devices can simultaneously watch 4K video content on any streaming platform without buffering.

Technically, you can do over 30, but I want to account for background bandwidth-hogging tasks, Wi-Fi interruptions, and other scenarios.

Use an Ethernet cable for any devices that support connectivity to maximize your internet speeds. Because this type of connectivity can bypass all weaknesses Wi-Fi faces. Like physical interruptions.

Online Gaming

You play online video games on PC, consoles, and the cloud with no issue when using 940/800 Mbps speeds.

Here are speeds you’ll need when gaming online:

TaskDownload Speed (Mbps)Upload Speed (Mbps)
Competitive Gaming5010
GEFORCE NOW15: 720p25: 1080p40: 4KUnspecified
Xbox One3.0.05–3.0
Nintendo Switch3.0.05–3.0
PlayStation 55.0.05–3.0
This table displays the speeds you’ll need when playing video games online with consoles or PCs.

Download and upload speeds don’t matter much when gaming online. Latency (distance between you and the host server) makes more of a difference. And no amount of internet speed can help you.

But 940 and 800 Mbps speeds will help you when competitive gaming, livestreaming, and doing other stuff in the background (like game patch downloads).

You also won’t have to worry about others in your household bogging down your online experience because they wanted to watch a Dr. Strange movie in 4K on Disney+.

Uploads and Downloads

940 Mbps download speeds allow you to download a 22 GB file in just over three minutes. And if you want to upload an 18 GB file, it’ll take even quicker.

The former size I mentioned is the average size for an hour-long 4K video file. You’ll love these speeds if you’re a video editor or have to continually back up your cloud storage.

And this is by far the best Verizon Fios internet-only plan for you.

If you have a 1 terabyte (TB) video library that you want to upload onto your home media server, it’ll take around two and a half hours. That’s the best-case scenario, though.

I mentioned earlier that you’ll need a wired connection to see these speeds. Otherwise, you’re not optimizing your internet speed.

Because building materials (like concrete), among various factors, can affect your Wi-Fi signal [1].

Verizon Internet Availability

Here’s where you can get Fios Gigabit Connection:

  • Washington DC
  • Virginia
    • Richmond
    • Norfolk
  • Rhode Island
    • Providence
  • Pennsylvania
    • Pittsburgh
    • Philadelphia
    • Harrisburg
  • Massachusetts
    • Boston
  • Delaware
  • New York
    • New York City
    • Buffalo
    • Albany
    • Staten Island
    • Syracuse
    • Plattsburgh
  • Maryland
    • Baltimore
  • New Jersey

Verizon may update their supported cities and states before we have a chance to update this piece. Check out their Fios availability map by entering the following link into your browser’s address bar:

Verizon.com/home/Fiosavailability.

Verizon Fios availability

Verizon Fios Gigabit Connection Price

Verizon Gigabit Connection home internet costs $89.99 monthly with a four-year price guarantee. If you’re also using a 5G plan, you’ll pay $64.99 monthly instead.

Verizon’s four-year guarantee means they won’t suddenly raise your internet bill.

You’ll also have to go through a soft credit check. While it won’t hurt your credit score, it may lead you to have to pay a security deposit. If Verizon disapproves of the credit score they see.

They don’t specify what scores will require a deposit.

And you’ll need to pay a $99 fee to use your Fios home internet. You can eliminate this fee if you don’t activate your home internet in-store and do it online.

Verizon Wireless Fios Gigabit Connection Features

Here’s what you’ll get with Gigabit Connection:

  • Disney+ free for six months: saves you $48
  • 2 TB Cloud storage (worth $14.99/mo.)
  • $300 off a StreamTV Soundbar or Soundbar Pro
  • SimpliSafe Smart Home 8-piece Security Bundle (worth $230): plus a free month of monitoring
  • No data cap
  • $50 Xbox eGift card
  • MoCA Ethernet adapter
  • Four-year price guarantee

I’ll cover the monthly fee of SimpliSafe in a second. First, I want to talk about the soundbar.

With the 500 and 300 Mbps plans, you’ll get a $100 and $200 coupon. But Gigabit Connection’s $300 coupon makes it so you only pay $99 for the Soundbar. And $699 for the Soundbar Pro.

And these soundbars offer decent sound quality with Dolby Atmos.

They also integrate well with Google smart home ecosystems. Due to their compatibility with Google Assistant and Chromecast.

It also gives homes a nice center speaker with a boomy bass.

They used to have Verizon Wi-Fi Connect (free public Wi-Fi hotspots). But in 2017, Verizon removed this service for business and residential customers [2].

I want to talk about the paid features of the 1 gigabyte (GB) plan. They include:

  • SimpliSafe home monitoring: $17.99 or $27.99 per month
  • Verizon Fios router: $399 (to buy) or $18 per month to rent
  • Verizon Cloud storage:
    • 600 GB: $5.99/mo.
    • 2 TB: $14.99/mo.
    • Unlimited memory: $19.99/mo.

SimpliSafe provides professional home monitoring services. I recommend taking advantage of Verizon’s one-month free trial to see whether you should get it later.

The router’s expensive, but it does come with some perks.

You’ll get $79.99 off your first month’s Verizon Fios bill as an account credit. Then you’ll have access to the fastest Wi-Fi speeds, 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6E), 10-gigabit internet speeds through Ethernet, and 6 GHz speeds.

6 GHz frequencies support twice as many channels as 5 GHz. That means you’ll have less chance of encountering congested Wi-Fi networks and get quick and reliable internet speeds.

You could find your own router, but you’ll have to do a lot of research.

The Cloud storage service acts kind of like Dropbox. You can synchronize contacts, files, call logs, and text messages. You can also store stuff in private folders.

With private folders, you can set biometric and face locks to fortify your account’s security.

Whether you should get these features depends on your needs.

Fios Gigabit Contract

Verizon Fios home internet plans don’t require a contract.

That means you don’t have to worry about an early termination fee.

Verizon removed this requirement a while back [3]. I believe it was an attempt to make their internet services more competitive.

Verizon Wireless Fios Gigabit Installation

Your home will require a fiber optic connection. If your home or apartment has an existing fiber connection, you won’t need to have a technician make a connection.

To find out whether your home has an existing Fios connection, you will want to look outside your home for a gray case with an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) inside.

If you already have an ONT, you’ll save yourself time, and you can install Verizon Fios internet yourself. Once you have a router, of course.

You can go with Verizon’s Fios router or bring your own.

But if you don’t have an ONT in your building or home, you’ll need to call Verizon internet customer service and schedule a technician visit.

Before they visit, you’ll need to find an area where utilities enter your home. Verizon Fios customer service may help if you don’t know how to do this.

You’ll also need to have someone 18 or older present and clean the area near where the technician will work. That way, they don’t have to shuffle your stuff around.

During the time the technician visits your home, they’ll do the following:

  • Install the ONT
  • Install a Power Supply Unit: this feeds power to your network terminal
  • Install a Battery Backup Unit (if you order it): I recommend doing so in case a power outage happens in your area
  • Connect everything to your internet router
  • Set up your home’s Wi-Fi network
  • Activate your service

From there, you’ll need to install your Verizon or third-party router. I wrote a guide for that here.

Gigabit Connection vs. Other Verizon Fios Internet Plans for Home

Here’s how Verizon Wireless Gigabit Connection compares to other Fios plans:

Fios Plan* Speed (Download/upload)** Price
300/300300/300 Mbps$49.99/mo.
500/500500/500 Mbps$69.99/mo.
Fios Gigabit Connection940/800 Mbps$89.99/mo.
Fios Prepaid 100 Mbps100/100 Mbps$39.99/mo.
Fios Prepaid 300 Mbps300/300 Mbps$59.99/mo.
Prepaid Gigabit Connection940/800 Mbps$79.99/mo.
This table compares various Verizon Fios home internet plans.

* These speeds may not reflect what you’ll actually get.

** Only new Verizon customers will see these prices. They don’t include sales tax and other fees. But they do account for Verizon’s Auto Pay discount.

You’ll only want Prepaid Fios plans if you’re temporarily living somewhere or don’t have the best credit. Because Verizon performs credit checks, which can lead to security deposits.

Only get 940 Mbps if you’ll use these speeds. Or if you believe your home will use significantly more bandwidth over the next several years.

Because you have a four-year price guarantee, you won’t have to worry about price hikes.

And things that could add a lot more bandwidth usage to your household include adding local- or cloud- storage servers or many home security devices.

Both scenarios demand a lot of upload and download speed. You’ll need to ensure you have enough bandwidth for your household.

Otherwise, you can downgrade to the 300 or 500 Mbps plans. The 300 Mbps plan offers two years without a price change. And 500 Mbps gives you three years.

Verizon Fios Gigabit Connection vs. The Competition

Here’s how Fios Gigabit plan compares to competing 1 GB fiber plans:

Gigabit Plan* Price** Speeds (Download/Upload)Data Cap
Gigabit Connection$89.99/mo.940/800 MbpsNone
Xfinity Gigabit Internet$70–80/mo.1,200/35 Mbps1.2 TB
Spectrum$89.99/mo.1,000/35 MbpsNone
CenturyLink$65.99/mo.940/35 Mbps1.0 TB

This table compares various gigabit internet plans.

* These prices don’t include sales tax or other fees. ISPs may reserve some of these prices for new customers. Internet service providers also include automatic payment discounts.

** Speeds may not accurately reflect what you’ll get. Various circumstances (like internet outages) could lower your speeds.

While Xfinity Gigabit Internet demands the lowest price and offers the highest speeds, it has a low upload speed. And a data cap.

Many want gigabit internet to download more files quicker. And with needing those speeds, you’ll likely reach the data cap quickly. Then you’ll have to pay an additional $10 per 50 gigabytes (GB) Xfinity automatically added to your account.

The Fios gigabit upload speed gives you the best value at 800 Mbps. That makes this fiber optic internet provider more useful for cloud storage, home video surveillance, and other uses requiring higher upload speeds.

They also don’t have a bandwidth cap.

And since I brought up higher upload speeds, none of the competitors appear to offer anything close.

So if you can afford fiber internet, I recommend going with Fios Gigabit Connection. If you live in one of the nine states they support.

Verizon Fios Gigabit Connection Deals

The following groups can get $25 off of qualifying Fios home internet plans:

These groups fall under the ‘Those Who Serve’ discount.

And here are the discounts these groups will receive:

Fios Plan* Regular PricePrice w/ Those Who Serve DiscountSavings
300/300$49.99/mo.$24.99/mo.66%
500/500$69.99/mo.$44.99/mo.43%
Fios Gigabit$89.99/mo.$64.99/mo.32%
This table presents discounts ‘Those Who Serve’ will get with Verizon Fios internet plans.

* These prices already include the Auto Pay discount. They don’t account for sales tax and are likely for new customers.

Whether you qualify for the above discounts, you can add a Verizon Unlimited Wireless plan to your account and pay less for your overall bill.

And here are discounts you’ll get when bundling 5G wireless plans with Fios home internet:

Fios Tier* Price (With 5G)Savings
300 Mbps$24.99/mo.22%
500 Mbps$44.99/mo.25%
1 Gig$64.99/mo.26%
This table presents savings you’ll find when bundling Verizon Unlimited plans with Fios home internet.

* These prices don’t include taxes or other fees. They include the automatic payments discount.

Groups with the Those Who Serve discount pay even less. For instance, a nurse with a 5G plan and Fios home internet would pay $49.99 monthly. Over 50% in savings.

FAQ: Verizon Fios Gigabit Plan

Explore these commonly asked (and answered) questions about Verizon’s Gigabit plan.

Does Verizon Fios Have a Data Cap?

Verizon Fios home internet does not have a data cap.

Does Fios Throttle Your Internet?

Verizon Fios home internet does throttle your internet speeds during peak hours (like rush hour). However, this information came from various complaints. I couldn’t find any official sources.

Conclusion

Verizon’s Gigabit Connection plan gives you 940/800 Mbps internet speeds without a contract or data cap. It’s great for homes that continually download and upload files.

It fares well against competing gigabit plans. But it doesn’t support most locations.

Does this plan not have what you need? Check out Verizon’s other home internet plans.




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